Every year BIFF has been able to attract ever strong film submissions to present to our audiences. The competition is tougher each year. BIFFY award winners represent the very best in feature length narrative and documentaries, short films, both from the Wisconsin/Illinois region to international submissions.

We're proud of our association with these exceptional films and filmmakers. Congratulations to you all.

Welcome filmmakers! We have experienced ourselves and work to share with others the power of film. We work hard to attract and present the very best in independent filmmaking that we can. We invite and appreciate your participation and strive to be your favorite film festival.

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2018 BIFFY Award Winners!

Our BIFF 2018 Honorary Chair

Ryan Churchill

Ryan is an actor, writer, producer, and director. And he is a hometown boy. He graduated from Beloit Memorial High School, earned a degree from the University of Wisconsin–Stout then joined The Second City in Chicago to work as an actor and writer. His bio includes countless acting credits in television, film, and commercials, as well as writing, directing, and producing credits. Ladies and gentlemen, please join us in welcoming Ryan Churchill.

Stopping Traffic

Directed by Sadhvi Siddhali Shree

The BIFF 2018
Power of Film Award

After that first BIFF event in 2006 we realized that we had unleashed something truly significant. As you well know, film can be a potent force. It can make people laugh, it can make people cry. It can touch them deep inside and make them look at the world in a whole new light.

As its name suggests, this award was created to spotlight that awesome power. It is given to a film that shares with the world a powerful, life-changing message. The winner this year absolutely fits this description.

All The Queen’s Horses

Directed by Kelly Richmond Pope

The BIFF 2018
Golden Laurels Award

The Golden Laurels Award goes to a film that in one way or another is in a league of its own. The award this year goes to a film that took us completely by surprise. Because of its local interest we knew it would be popular and we suspected we might have to schedule additional screenings but we were not prepared for just how popular it was going to be.

Additional screenings would sell out almost as soon as they were announced. Originally slated for two screenings, we added two more, then another, then another, and another after that. Words like smash hit, blockbuster, phenomenon just don’t seem adequate to describe it. Honestly, in the history of BIFF we have never seen anything like it.

No More Things

Directed by Tobias Bechtloff

Josh Burton Award

A very special friend of BIFF was Josh Burton, who we lost in 2007. As a professional actor, Josh had a successful career on Broadway but returned home to become a driving force in the Greater Beloit arts community. He entertained countless local audiences both as an actor and as a producer as he helped create a professional summer theater company in residence at Beloit College.

In that spirit, the Josh Burton Award acknowledges a film deserving of recognition for bringing something truly special to the stage, or in this case, the screen.